The Ultimate Challenge
by JerryKateAshley
Summary: God has decided to create a new universe, and erase the current one, but he wants a strong, pure and righteous person to be the mold for the next human race, so in true Shonen Jump style, it is time for a Tournament of Ages!
1. Chapter 1

The Ultimate Challenge Part 1

God awoke.

God had gone to sleep since the year 8500 B.C. He had chosen to because of seeing the true evil in humans in the form of Atlantis, seeing all humans corrupted, he was about to give up on them, but it was then one of his heralds, Ra, suggested a different idea, God should go into a slumber for 11000 years. Then, once awoken, if humanity had not improved, God would erase the universe, then restart and build a new one.

Now that God had awoken he took a long look at the Earth in its condition, it was the year 2500 A.D. God's 3 heralds, Ra, Slifer and Obelisk, watched in anticipation for God's decision. The 3 worried not for Earth, but for themselves, they had been left in charge while God slept, if God decides to restart, they could be erased the same as the planet. After checking the Planet, and the lives of everyone on it, God finally said:

_I have decided_

-And with those words, all of the heralds shuddered, terrified, but not showing it directly, they didn't need to, they knew God knew-

_The Universe will be ending soon_

-3 emotions struck the 3 Heralds: Fear, anger and despair-

_I will restart it all, build a new one, but the humans will be stronger this time. I need the strongest one, my heralds-_

-The Heralds snapped out of their daze, having entirely been dwelling on their own problems, as they had during their control over Earth-

_I need you to find me the greatest duelist, he or she shall be the mold for the next humans, take him from his peak, he may from any point in time, find him and bring him to me, he must be powerful-_

-And at that moment, Slifer left, thinking God was finished, and he began his search through time looking for the most powerful duelists.

_-one that is pure of heart-_

-Obelisk was the next to leave, he charged through all of time for the one pure of heart-

-_but above all else, he must be willing to fight for what is right._

-With that, Ra set off and looked for the Champion of Time, the one that God wants, confident that if he were to find the one God wants, he would be invited to the next universe, and he would be safe from erasing, this was also why Slifer and Obelisk left, they, still caring about their existence above all else, went to find the one God beckoned for…

_Have you located my champion, my servants?_

God asked following the return of all 3 of the heralds.

"Yes my liege", Slifer answered first, "I found the strongest of all duelists, his name is Yusei Fudo a duelist from the years of the 2020's. He is perhaps the strongest duelist of all time, being an expert in both normal, and speed duels".

"Wrong", Obelisk said before God could answer, "You left prior our Lord finishing his instructions; he wants a strong duelist that is pure of heart as well as powerful! I have found the duelist that fits that description! Jaden Yuki is the one you wished for my lord!"

"How funny", Ra began, "you point out Slifer left before the Lord finished, when you did as well, Lord wanted a champion that is pure and truly righteous, Yugi Muto sire. Yugi Muto is the one you want." At this point, Slifer was terrified, he felt confident in his assumption that Yusei was the strongest of the 3, but with the other 2 traits God wanted, he was no longer confident that he would survive, he thought quickly of a way to discredit his fellow heralds soldiers.

"Yugi Muto? The so called 'King of Games' that lost to Joey Wheeler? A scrub that would not even be remembered for anything? And as for the Yuki-boy, he pales in comparison to his own friend Jesse Anderson"!

"And you believe that Yusei would do better than Yugi?" retorted Ra, "Yusei himself would be easily defeated by Jack Atlas, and was numerous times in his lifetime"!

Obelisk now saw his opportunity to play his trump cards, "And you should talk Ra? Seto Kaiba is far superior to Yugi Muto, similar to how Crow Hogan could easily defeat Yusei Fudo".

"Yes of course Obelisk", Slifer responded, grinning, "and Jaden could _easily_ defeat Zane Truesdale".

It was at this point where the heralds just started bickering amongst themselves, all the while God was simply sitting there and considering the 3 possible champions, considering which would be the greatest mold for a new human race, he soon came to a realization.

_I have realized the answer._

All the heralds stopped talking, Slifer even trembled at realizing that this could easily be the last moment in his existence, they all knew, but he was the only one that physically showed his terror.

_They are all worthy champions, all 9 of them, but I will only be able to pick one of them to be the mold for the next humans._

"What is the problem my lord?" Ra questioned, "I am the one that waited to hear all of your instructions, and my choice is clearly the best."

_True, you heard all of my orders, but by accident maybe, everyone named here, whether as choices or to attempt to discredit ones opponents, all of them are pure and righteous, the question is who is the strongest._

"So then it is my choice," Slifer said, "Yusei is skilled in both regular and Speed duels, he is the obvious choice".

_Maybe he is the best speed duelist, but I have been asleep for millennia's I would have never allowed to such idiotic duels to be created. Car games on motorcycles, ridiculous._

"So it is clear, Jaden Yuki is clearly the strongest out of the 3 overall" Obelisk boasted.

"Please, Speed duels or not, Yusei would still easily win against all of them" Slifer retorted.

"My lord, may I suggest something?" Ra, nervously, started.

_Yes my herald?_

"What if," he cautiously started, "we collect all 9 of the names here, and we have a Tournament of Ages, to decide the true greatest duelist of all time?"

… _Not the 9 of these people…_

Ra shuddered; bracing himself for what could be his removal from existence.

_We need 3 more._

_9 is an odd number, we can't have a tournament with an odd number, which would just get confusing!_

Ra, and his fellow heralds, all sighed; they were starting to remember that God, before he went to asleep, was starting to act goofy in his agelessness.

_I will personally pick 3 more people, 1 from each of their generations, it will be: Maximillion Pegasus, Aster Phoenix and Akiza Izinski. All 3, while perhaps weaker than the 3 you all chose, but they are all 3 pure and righteous._

And with that finished, God transferred all 4 of them to an enormous arena, they were sitting in a large balcony, as fast as they were there, the 12 duelists appeared below them on a large stage, God beckoned down to them:

_Champions! I have brought you all here to choose who will survive the Apocalypse!_

All 12 of them looked up with shock, terror and confusion on their faces, the Heralds simply looked at God with confusion. Confusion that he would so suddenly and abruptly bring these people here like this, all God followed this up with was:

_Oh right! I'm God by the way!_


	2. Chapter 3

The Ultimate Challenge Part 3

After an entire chapter of explanation, the 12 duelists were caught up to speed, they now understood their situation, the winner of the tournament will be used as a mold for the next universe' inhalants. The rest would be sent back to their lives and (thankfully) have their memories erased of this event, and would eventually be wiped from existence, along with the current universe. God waited for about 2 minutes before starting the first match of the tournament, not because he wanted to allow them prep time, because he found it funny the drastically differing thoughts that went through all of their minds.

_Okay then, the tournament will begin now; the first match will be Maximillion Pegasus…_

For the first time in many years, Maximillion felt absolute horror, he was confident in his ability's as a duelist, he may have lost to Kaiba and Yugi in the past, but he had reworked his deck in the many years he had to himself.

_Vs. Joey Wheeler!_

At the exact same instance, both duelists breathed a sigh of relief, for differing reasons of course. Pegasus was relieved because, despite openly admitting Joey Wheeler is one of the best duelists alive in his time, was still a novice compared to him, Kaiba was brilliant and Yugi had the Pharaoh when the 2 defeated him, but Wheeler had nothing on him. Joey, on the other hand, was relieved that he even knew his opponent, over half the people here were from the future of his time, he had no confidence that he could handle a duelist with cards that haven't been invented yet, at least not at the moment. Joey thought that if he could defeat Pegasus, he could put up a good fight against anyone, or at the very least, may end up dueling Yugi or Kaiba next round, someone he's at least familiar with.

_The remainder of you will be put in stasis until the finish of this round; you will be woken in what will feel like a minute to you._

Slifer took the hint and everyone but Joey and Pegasus disappeared, Obelisk then summoned a dueling field that would fit both of their tastes, an old-styled, early Dueling Arena, one they both have used before, and Pegasus prefers to use when dueling, while Joey plugged in his Duel Disk. And with this, the duel started.

Pegasus: 4000 | Turn 1 | Joey: 4000

"I'll start this by activating Gold Sarcophagus," Pegasus started, "now I can banish my Toon World, and in 2 turns I can add it to my hand, next I'll lay 2 cards face down and finish."

Pegasus started panicking when he first saw his hand, almost literally nothing he could do, his only monsters were regular and Manga Ryu-Ran, impossible to summon at all right now, and other than Sarcophagus, the only other cards were useless traps, he had to bank on faking the novice out.

"Alright then…" Joey said as he drew his sixth card, "And I'll summon Goblin Attack Force (ATK: 2300 DEF: 0) in attack mode!" Joey was treading water here; he could see Pegasus couldn't summon any monsters because of his reliance on Toon World, but those trap cards could do anything. (Okay, it looks like I'm safe to summon, he didn't activate either of those cards, but that doesn't mean they won't activate when I attack), Joey thought to himself.

"I'll play one face down card and end my turn."

Pegasus: 4000 | Turn 2 | Joey: 4000

"I draw, and next turn I get Toon World." Pegasus breathed a small sigh of relief, he didn't get a monster but instead _Jar of Greed_, and seeing how Wheeler didn't attack last turn, playing another facedown would just give the effect again. "I place another card face down and end my turn."

"Draw."

(Okay, he placed another face down card, he gets Toon World next turn no matter what, so…)

"Goblin Attack Force! Direct Attack!"

(Pegasus 4000 - 1700)

"But now they have to change to defense mode".

Pegasus gasped when hit, he felt happy and scared at the same time, sure he would have only 700 after he activates Toon World, but if Joey had summoned another monster before attacking he would be finished, Joey couldn't touch him for the rest of the turn, not to mention his Attack Force was now an open target.

"Bluffing, eh? I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Not yet!" Pegasus interrupted, "I activate my face down _Jar of Greed_, so I can draw one card."

Pegasus: 1700 | Turn 3 | Joey: 4000

"I draw, and now Toon World is finally added to my hand!" Pegasus got a smug grin on his face, he was about to completely change the duel in his favor, "And I pay 1000 life points to activate it -

(Pegasus 1700 - 700)

-and I normal summon Toon Cannon Soldier (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1300), but now I can special summon Toon Mermaid (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500). Joey begun worrying, but he remembered that some of the toons couldn't attack to the first turn they're summoned. "Now I sacrifice both of them to summon: Manga Ryu-Ran! (ATK: 2200 DEF: 2600) I will leave it in defense mode for right now, and I end my turn."

Joey drew a card, he was worried now, he panicked for one moment, but then he realized he could easily topple the dragon, but had overlooked it in his stress. Joey had a plan.

"I activate Shield and Sword! Changing all monsters' attack points with their defense points!" Pegasus was worried, but he had a plan, "And now I sacrifice my face down monster and Goblin Attack Force to summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon! (ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000) Now I attack and destroy your monster!"

"Not so fast! I activate my facedown card! _Toon Briefcase!_" Joey's dragon suddenly returned to Joey's deck, and then the deck shuffled itself, "Now your Red Eyes is out of commission." Joey started panicking, he was wide open and there was a monster that could wipe out half his life points in one hit.

"Okay then, I'll play a card face down and finish my turn."

Pegasus: 700 | Turn 4 | Joey: 4000

"Draw." Pegasus started, "Now I switch Manga Ryu-Ran to attack mode, and I summon Toon Masked Sorcerer, now I attack directly with Ryu-Ran!"

(Joey 4000 - 1800)

"And I end my turn." Joey was starting to worry, he wasn't certain if he could get a card that could help him at this point, but when he drew his next card, he was confident that he would survive a little while longer.

"I summon Little-Wingaurd to attack mode, (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1800) and I attack Masked Sorcerer!"

(Pegasus 700 - 100)

Pegasus could swear his heart had stopped when Joey attacked, he panicked when he summoned it and miscalculated the attack in his head, Pegasus couldn't allow this to happen again, it didn't matter if could simply attack and finish him, that facedown card could be anything, and could finish the game his next turn.

"And after he attacks, I can use his ability and switch him to defense mode, now I play one card facedown and end my turn."

Pegasus: 100 | Turn 5 | Joey: 1800

"I draw." Pegasus stopped for a moment before continuing, Joey could have easily just activated a trap that would finish him off right then and there, "Now I will summon Toon Alligator in attack mode and…" Pegasus realized he was getting reckless, if he had attacked it could have ended there, (I need to stop thinking about this, I need to just go ahead and attack!)

"I end my turn."

"Draw," Joey knew he was in control right now, he bluffed with the two facedown cards, if Pegasus attacked, Joey would have been finished, (If I can keep this up for two turns, I've won, I have the cards, I just need to get them altogether.)

"Now I summon Alligator's Sword in attack mode! And I play another card facedown, and then I'll end my turn."

Pegasus: 100 | Turn 6 | Joey: 1800

"Draw!" Pegasus may as well have drawn a Get out of Jail Free Card, he drew _Royal Decree_, a trap card that will negate all trap cards other than itself, as soon as Pegasus activates this, he will be free to attack, he could feel the weight start to rise off his shoulders, "and I play one card facedown and end my turn."

Joey drew, he was just as scared as Pegasus was that trap card could destroy him easily, but if he could live one more turn he could finish him off, "I summon one monster in defense mode, and then I end my turn."

Pegasus: 100 | Turn 7 | Joey: 1800

"And now, Wheeler, you will be going home! I activate _Royal Decree_! Now that you can't activate any traps, I attack directly with Ryu-Ran!"

"Not yet Pegasus!" Joey had predicted something like this, he remembered back to his duel with Espa Roba in Battle City, where his deck was crippled by _Jinzo_ so he had tweaked his deck to give him a way to work against that restriction. "I activate my facedown card: _Order to Charge_! Since it's a quick-play spell card, I can activate it as easily as I could a trap card! And with it, I can sacrifice Alligator's Sword to destroy a monster on your field, like Ryu-Ran!"

"Grrr," Pegasus was getting angry, he wanted to finish Wheeler as fast as possible, and he thought he was in the clear but, "Then I attack with Toon Alligator,

(Joey 1800 - 1000)

and thanks to his effect, I draw one card, and now I special summon Toon Dark Magician Girl by sacrificing Alligator! Your move Wheeler!"

"And now it's all over Pegasus!" Pegasus clutched his fist, within seconds his knuckles turned white, "I activate my facedown card: _Question!"_ Pegasus felt himself get nauseas, he could have won earlier, and the idiot novice had faked out the creator of the game. "Now you name the first monster sent to my graveyard at the start of the duel, if you're right, it gets banished, if you're wrong though…"

Pegasus had no clue, he remembered the beginning of the duel, he summoned Red Eyes Black Dragon by sacrificing Goblin Attack Force… after… what was the facedown card!?

"It… was… Time Wizard?"

"Nope, sorry man, but the card I get now is, Baby Dragon!" Joey won, he knew it now, "and now I can sacrifice both of my monsters to summon, Insect Queen! And now to make sure you can't stop me, I activate the spell card: _Giant Trunade_!"

Pegasus held in tears, after every spell and trap was returned to the owners hand, Toon World was gone and with it every Toon on Pegasus' field, he was open.

"Sorry buddy, but now I sacrifice Little Wingaurd to attack directly with Insect Queen!"

(Pegasus 100 - 0)

God returned Pegasus to where he was when he was brought here, God, fortunately, wiped away his memories of these events, but more importantly, match 1 was finished, Joey Wheeler was going to continue in the tournament.

As a prize for winning this duel, Joey was told he would be placed into the VIP section, which Joey figured was just a big room with a fridge of infinite food and a couch facing towards a wall that was just glass, Joey walked over to the glass and looked out.

He saw, down where he and Pegasus and himself just finished dueling, Set Kaiba, standing in front of a kid with a red jacket…

S


End file.
